How to start a business in Santa Ana.

This is the order that works for most new Santa Ana businesses. Requirements vary by entity, location and industry, so use the city, county and state sources below to confirm what applies to yours.

1. 1

   Register the business and the name

   Form an LLC or corporation with the California Secretary of State through bizfile Online, or stay a sole proprietor. If you use a name that is not your legal name, file a fictitious business name (DBA) statement with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder within 40 days of starting business. It costs $23 for one name. The first newspaper publication must run within 45 days of filing or the statement expires, then it runs once a week for four weeks and you file the affidavit of publication.

   CA Secretary of State: bizfile OnlineOrange County Clerk-Recorder: Fictitious Business Name
2. 2

   Get your free EIN and any seller's permit

   The IRS says you generally need an EIN to hire employees or to operate a partnership or corporation. It issues the number online, immediately if approved, and never charges for it. If you sell or lease goods that would ordinarily be subject to sales tax, you also need a seller's permit from the CDTFA, which does not charge for it but may ask for a security deposit. Santa Ana asks businesses that sell tangible goods for a seller's permit showing the Santa Ana address.

   IRS: Get an EINCDTFA: Seller's permit
3. 3

   Get your Santa Ana business license

   Every business operating in Santa Ana pays an annual business license tax, whether or not it is run for profit. The tax is paid in advance, before the business operates, and the license must be renewed every year. A separate license is needed for each branch or office, and for a second business activity at the same place that falls in a different classification or has a different owner. Licenses do not transfer to a new owner. Apply in person at the Business License Tax Section, City Hall 1st floor, 20 Civic Center Plaza (Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or email the application to BusinessTax@santa-ana.org. Billing questions: (714) 647-5447.

   City of Santa Ana: Business LicensesCity of Santa Ana: General Information for Business Licenses
4. 4

   Confirm zoning and pull any industry permits

   Confirm your use is allowed at the address with the city before you sign a lease. If you sell or serve food: Every food facility needs a health permit from Orange County Environmental Health before it opens, and a new or remodeled facility needs written plan approval before construction. The first plan review usually takes 20 working days. Permits are not transferable, so a new owner needs a new permit. For other permits, GO-Biz offers permitting and regulatory help for any size company.

   OC Environmental Health: Food Facility Health PermitGO-Biz: Permit & Regulatory Assistance
5. 5

   Check the $800 California tax rules for your entity

   Every California LLC owes the $800 annual tax, even in a year it does no business, until it is cancelled. Corporations owe an $800 minimum franchise tax, but newly incorporated or qualified corporations do not pay it in their first taxable year.

   Franchise Tax Board: LLC $800 annual taxFranchise Tax Board: Corporation minimum tax
6. 6

   Use the free help that already exists

   The Orange County Inland Empire SBDC offers no-cost help for entrepreneurs across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Use it before you pay a consultant.

   Orange County Inland Empire SBDC (free advising)

Every link here goes straight to a government or nonprofit source. These are the agencies that actually issue your registrations and permits, so go to them directly rather than a paid middleman.

• City of Santa Ana: Business Licenses

  An annual business license tax for every business in the city, paid before you operate. City Hall 1st floor, or BusinessTax@santa-ana.org. (714) 647-5447.

• City of Santa Ana: General Information for Business Licenses

  Who pays, separate licenses for each location and activity, and the nonprofit exemption.

• City of Santa Ana: Regulations Applicable to Business Licenses

  The rules behind the business license tax.

• County of Orange: Apply for a Business License

  The county's links to the business license office of each of Orange County's 34 cities.

• County of Orange: Starting a Business

  The county lists no general business license for unincorporated areas and points those businesses to the fictitious business name filing.

• Orange County Clerk-Recorder: Fictitious Business Name

  $23 for one name, plus $7 for each additional name and each registrant after two. The first publication must run within 45 days of filing or the statement expires.

• OC Environmental Health: Food Facility Health Permit

  Needed by every food facility, from restaurants and markets to carts and event booths. Small displays of prepackaged food only register. (714) 433-6000.

• Orange County Assessor: Business Property Statement

  Form 571-L is due April 1 if your business equipment cost more than $100,000 in total or the Assessor asks. A 10% penalty applies after May 7. (714) 834-2930.

• OC Development Services

  Zoning and building for businesses in unincorporated Orange County.

• Orange County Inland Empire SBDC (free advising)

  No-cost help for entrepreneurs across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. (800) 616-7232.

• CA Secretary of State: bizfile Online

  Where LLCs and corporations file with the California Secretary of State.

• IRS: Get an EIN

  Your federal tax ID. Apply online and, if approved, the number is issued immediately. The IRS never charges a fee for an EIN.

• CDTFA: Seller's permit

  Required if you sell or lease goods that would ordinarily be subject to sales tax. The CDTFA does not charge for it, though it may ask for a security deposit.

• Franchise Tax Board: LLC $800 annual tax

  Every LLC doing business or organized in California owes the $800 annual tax, even in a year it does no business, until the LLC is cancelled.

• Franchise Tax Board: Corporation minimum tax

  Corporations owe an $800 minimum franchise tax, but newly incorporated or qualified corporations do not pay it in their first taxable year.

• GO-Biz: Permit & Regulatory Assistance

  The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development says it will assist any size company with permitting and regulatory questions.